Mining planer having traction element behind the conveyor



W. RUSLER Feb. 18, 1958 MINING PLANER HAVING TRACTION ELEMENT BEHIND THECONVEYOR Filed July 28, 1954 mvszvrozz WULFF RosLER W A TTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 9 MINING PLANER HAVING TRACTION ELEMENT BEHIND THECONVEYOR Wullf Riisler, Essen-Margaretenhoehe, Germany Application July28, 1954, Serial No. 446,190 Claims priority, application Germany August22, 1953 11 Claims. (Cl. 262-8) This invention relates to an improvedmining planer. Mining planers, such as coal planers, have alongitudinally extending conveyor and a mining planer cutter is pulledback and forth in front of the conveyor by means of a flexible tractionelement, as, for example, a chain.

The conveyor may consist of a multiple number of sections, which may beflexibly connected to each other to adapt to the shape of the mine facein connection with which the machine is used. The conveyor has an opentrough surface, over which flights of scrapers may be pulled by anendless chain to convey mineral, such as coal, which is deposited intothe conveyor trough.

The planer cutter may be provided with two cutting edges facing inopposite directions for cutting in each direction of motion along theforward portion of the conveyor. The planer cutter may be so mountedthat the cutting edge facing forward in the direction of motion alwayspenetrates farther into the face being worked than the cutter whichfaces toward the rear. Similarly, the forward cutting edge may be tilteddownwardly, so that it slides sharply over the mine floor and evenscratches the same to detach all the mineral, such as the coal,therefrom.

The mining planer is generally used in connection with long-wall mining.The conveyor is set up facing the mine face and extending therealong.The conveyor is continuously urged toward the mine face by means ofpneumatic jacks or the like, and the planer cutter is pulled back andforth in contact with the face by means of the flexible tractionelement, such as the chain. The machine is continuously advanced forwardas the mineral is removed from the mine face, and the mine ceiling adistance inback ofthe conveyor may be continuously collapsed.

The planer cutter is generally mounted on a guide beam, which is pulledback and forth in front of the conveyor in guided relationship thereto.With this construction, a relatively large distance exists between themine face and the conveyor. In operation, the planer cutter does not cutup to the top of the seam, and the coal from this upper part generallybreaks off and falls down after the planer cutter has cut the portion ofthe coal below the same. Due to the spacing of the conveyor from themine face, this coal generally falls in .frontof theconveyor and must.be plowed on the same by the planer cutter.

One object of this invention is a construction for a .coal planer which,allows operation with only a very narrow space between themine face andthe conveyor. This, and still further objects, will become apparent fromthe following :description, read in conjunction with the drawings, inwhich:

Fig. l is aplan view partially in section of a portion of an embodimentof a miningplaner in accordance with .the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the planer shown in Fig. l; and

2,823,908 Patented Feb. 18, 1958 Fig. 3 is a side view of the portion ofFig. 1 showing the wedgeshaped member.

In accordance with the invention, the longitudinally extending conveyorof the mining planer has? forwaid slide surface extending along itsfront portion and a rear slide surface extending across its backportion. A rearwardly facing guide surface is defined on the pla lercutter positioned in sliding engagement with the forward slide surface.A guide beam, which defines a forwardly facing guide surface, ispositioned for moving back and forth along in a of t e .se v yor wi hthe guid .s ra n sliding e a emen w t the ear s ide a rfap A connectingme ber isid se riect t t e plea cutter extends beneath the conveyorconnecting the'lcujtztfer and the guide beam. The flexible tractionelement, such as the chain, for pulling the planer cutter back andforth, is preferably connected to the guide beam and extends along theback of the conveyor.

Referring t the dr w ng the l n tud na ly e ten in conveyor 11 consistsof a multiple number of conyeylor sections, which may, if desired, beeonnectedtogether to allow a limited pivoting or flexing there b etween. The conveyor sections consist of a front side section 1 a back sidesection 2, connected the. h liize l P tltion 3 defining the conveyorbottom The po rtin of the c m ve w ch in e t n e sth am; fa along whichthe planer cuttertrave ls, is ldesignatedas the forward portion or frontof the conveyor, whereas the opposite side is designated as the rear orback. A flight of scrapers (not shown) is drawn over the to-p of thepartition 3 to eifect the conveying, and returns beneath the partition3. Each scraper of the flight connected at each end with an endlesschain to effect the movement of the scraper flight. The scrapers in theflight extend between the two endless chains as steps on a ladder .withone chain running along and inside the vertical partition 1 and theother chain running along in the vertical partition 2. l

A planer c t 2 i o a beak an o th l n in front of the conveyor 11. Theplaner cutter has the cutting edges 13 for cutting in one direction, andthe cutting edges 14 for cutting in the other direction.

In accordance with the invention, a forward slide surface 36 is definedlongitudinally along the forward portion of the conveyor and a rearslide surface 9 defined along the back of the conveyor. A guide beam 1819 is positioned for movement back and forth along the back of theconveyor. The planer cutter 12 is connected to this guide beam by meansof a connecting member 17, which extends under the conveyor.

The connecting member 17 is rigidly connected to the planer cutter 12 atone end and is rigidly connected I to a guide sleeve 13 at the otherend. A beam 19, provided with the shoulders 20 and 21 at its ends,extends through the guide sleeve 18. Qn the other side of the shoulders25 and 21 are provided guide shoes ZZ andQ S, respectively, which defineforwardly facing guide surfaces and to which the flexibletractionelement in the form of the tow chain 24 is connected.

The beam 19 as shown'has a rectangnlar (square) cross-section and ishollow. The guide sleeve l 8 is al so generally rectangular in shape andits bore, through yvhich the beam 19 extends, is shaped like arectangular tunnel, which progressively narrowsin both the horizontaland vertical planes towardits central portion .and widen wards its ends.This shape will bere ferred ,t-ohereinafter as a double wedge-shapedbore. This wedge shaped bore closely surrounds the bearn 19 at its"central portion 25 and is widened at its two end portions .and' 2 j7,

h respectively.

The planer cutter 12 extends above the side profile of the conveyor 11with a ledge-like extension 28.

Along the back of the conveyor 11 a vertical wall 29 is positioned,which defines the rear slide surface 9 and which extends above theconveyor. A rear wall 38 is bolted to the wall 29 by the bolts 31 toform a casing for the guide path of the guide beam 1819, and the chain'24. The bolts 31 serve as the bearing pins for the supporting rollers32 over which the chain returns, as indicated at 33 in Fig. 2. The chainreturn is covered by the hinged, curved wall portions 34, which may bepivoted upwardly or removed to expose the chain.

The planer cutter defines the rearwardly facing guide surfaces 35 and39. When the chain 24 is pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow15, the guide sleeve 18 slides over the beam 19 until it strikes theshoulder 21. Due to the double wedge-shaped bore of the guide sleeve 18,the sleeve may pivot a limited amount about the 'beam 19, so that thecutting edge 13 is tilted forward,

of the guide sleeve 18, the cutters 13 engage more deeply into the mineface while the rearwardly directed cutters 14 are removed and will notbe dragged along the mine face. The other guide shoe 23 of the beam 19is moved somewhat away from the rear slide surface 9.

In order to effect a forward tilting and lowering of the forwarddirected cutters 13 and thus a better detaching of the coal from themine floor, Wedge-shaped members 37 and 38 are positioned on the twoends of the beam 19 on its top and adjacent to the shoulders 20 and 21.The wedges 37 and 38 incline toward the center of the beam 19 and, asthe sleeve 18 slides along the beam 19 prior to striking the shoulder21, it rides up the wedge 38, tilting the same so that the cutters 13are tilted downwardly. In order to adjust this downward tilting of thecutters 13, the height to which the wedges 37 and 38 protrude, may bemade adjustable.

In order to make the degree of tilting of the cutters 13 and 14 withrespect to the mine face adjustable, the slide shoes 22 and 23 may bemade adjustable with re ipect'to their depth of protrusion toward theslide surace 9.

As the planer cutter is pulled along in the position shown, the coal iscut and detached from the mine face and plowed into the conveyor 11. Thecoal and the upper portion of the seam which is undercut by the cutter13 will for the most part fall directly into the conveyor 11, due to thecloseness of the conveyor to the mine face.

When the planer cutter 12 is pulled along the length of the face in thedirection of the arrow 15, the drive for the chain 24 is reversed in theconventional manner, so that the same is pulled in the direction of thearrow 16. At this reversal, first of all, the beam 19 slideslongitudinally through the guide sleeve 18 until the latter comesagainst the shoulder and is carried along therewith. The connecting arm17, and thus the planer cutter 12, are swung into the opposite positionwith the cutter 14 tilted into cutting position with the mine face withthe cutters 13 tilted away from the face. The cutters 14 are also tilteddownwardly toward the floor, since the guide sleeve 18 now runs over thewedge 37. The rearwardly facing guide surface 39 of the planer cutterthen pivoted into sliding engagement with the forward slide surface 36and the forward defacing guide surface of the shde shoe 22 comes intosliding engagement with the rear slide surface 9, while the slide shoe"20 is swung away from the rear slide surface 9.

In all other respects, the operation of the mining planer isconventional with the conveyor being constantly urged toward the mineface by means of pneumatic jacks or the like, and the mined coal beingconstantly removed by the scraper flights on the conveyor 11.

I claim:

1. In a mining machine having a longitudinally extending conveyor and amining planer cutter pulled back and forth in front of the conveyor by aflexible traction element, the improvement which comprises meansdefining a forward slide surface along the forward portion of theconveyor, means defining a rear slide surface along the back of theconveyor, a rearwardly facing guide surface defined on the planer cutterpositioned in sliding engagement with said forward slide surface, aguide beam defining a forwardly facing guide surface positioned formoving back and forth along the back of said conveyor with said guidesurface in sliding engagement with said rear slide surface, and aplate-like connecting member extending beneath the conveyor connectingthe planer cutter and the guide beam.

2. Improvement according to claim 1, in which the flexible tractionelement is connected to said guide beam for pulling the planer cutterback and forth in front of the conveyor.

3. Improvement according to claim 1, in which said guide beam comprisesan elongated beam having a stop member at each end portion and a guidesleeve slidable along said beam between said stops, said guide sleevedefines a bore through which said guide beam extends which progressivelynarrows in the horizontal plane toward its central portion and Widenstowards its ends to allow for limited pivoting of the guide beam, saidconnecting member being rigidly connected to the planer cutter at oneend and to the guide sleeve at the other end.

4. Improvement according to claim 3, in which said guide beam defines aslide shoe at each end, the rear slide shoe defining said forwardlyfacing guide surface in each direction of movement of the guide beam,said flexible traction element being connected to said guide beam.

5. Improvement according to claim 4, in which said flexible tractionelement is connected to each end of said beam, said beam extends througha bore which progressively narrows in the vertical plane toward itscentral portion and widens towards its ends.

6. Improvement according to claim 5, in which said guide sleeve definesa double wedge-shaped bore with said beam extending therethrough.

7. Improvement according to claim 6, including a wedge member positionedat the top of said beam at each end thereof inwardly of said stop memberand inclined toward the center of said beam.

8. Improvement according to claim 7, in which said beam has asubstantially rectangular cross-section.

9. Improvement according to claim 8, including a casing enclosing thepath of travel of the guide beam along the back of the conveyor.

10. Improvement according to claim 9, in which the flexible tractionelement returns in the casingabove the guide beam. y

11. Improvement according to claim 10, in which the portion of thecasing which surrounds the flexible traction element return isremovable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,689,716 Bainbridge Sept. 21, 1954 2.691.514 Lobbe Oct. 12, 1954

